By Samindra Kunti
June 11 – Taking the knee, a gesture against racism, keeps dividing football ahead of Euro 2020 and Friday’s opener between Italy and Turkey. Hungarian president Victor Orban has defended his football federation’s decision to not take the knee claiming that sports and politics don’t mix, while Croatia will leave it to its players to decide.
June 11 – Manchester City starlet Phil Foden tops a ranking of European Big-5 league players by transfer value, coming in at a whopping €190 million.
June 11 – BeIN Sports has scored a victory in the TV rights arena by seeing off a bid from a Saudi broadcaster to renew a three-year deal for UEFA’s prime club competitions across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
June 11 – FIFA has officially spread its wings in Europe with the formal opening of an office in Paris. The world federation confirmed the news on Thursday when French president Emmanuel Macron and FIFA president Gianni Infantino opened the Hotel de la Marine where the office will be located.
June 11 – The USL has unveiled the eight founding members of its women’s pro-am – the W League – that will begin play in May 2022.
June 11 –Houston, which is preparing to host Concacaf Gold Cup matches next month, is looking further ahead with its bid to be one of the final 10 host cities in the US for the 2026 World Cup.
June 10 – England’s six rebel clubs have reached a £22 million financial settlement with the Premier League for their role in the European Super League debacle.
June 10 – On the eve of Euro 2020, Spain has belatedly decided to vaccinate the national team following positive coronavirus tests of both team captain Sergio Busquets and Diego Llorente this week.
June 10 – The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) has unveiled online used car marketplace cinch as its new title sponsor in a five-year deal it is saying is the biggest the SPFL’s history.
June 10 – Major sponsors Mastercard and Ambev have withdrawn their support for the Copa America following a last-minute switch of host venue to Covid-ravaged Brazil.
June 10 – Better late than never. One year after its original date, Euro 2020 finally kicks off in Rome on Friday but with a very different feel to anything we have experienced in the past.
June 10 – In an unexpected blow to its pride, UEFA has been forced to suspend disciplinary proceedings against Super League rebel clubs Barcelona, Juventus and Real Madrid.
June 10 – The new launch women’s friendly club tournament – The Women’s Cup (TWC) – to be hosted for the first time in Louisville in the US 18-21 August, has sold its US broadcast rights to Paramount+.
June 10 – With all the nervousness surrounding the staging of the Copa America in Brazil and the pull out of sponsors Mastercard and Ambev, support for the international game on the continent has been found via LATAM Airlines who have signed on as the official airline of the Chilean national soccer team.
June 10 – Baltimore-Maryland’s 2026 World Cup host bid has been bolstered by the signing of a partnership agreement with the Football for Peace Foundation (FFP), with the aim of creating new youth and community development programmes across Maryland through international cultural exchange initiatives.